"Dadi, I am warning you for the last time take the medicine or else I'm going and will never gonna come back."
Now I'm really losing my patience. She is behaving like a child.
"This tastes ridiculous."
"So? What do you think? How should it taste? Like 'laddus'?"
"Yeah, maybe a chocolate or strawberry flavor. It can be even spicy."
"Are you done with your stupid fantasy? Then wait for the day when the medicine is going to be made tasty and then take it. After that, I will recharge the cable line and again you can watch your saas-bahu drama. Till then forget your daily soaps."
With this, I turned to go.
"What? I can't miss today's episode?"
She started shouting from behind.
"Then take the medicine. It's so simple."
I'm so trying to not laugh seeing her madness for those tv serials. Her only medicine to make her take medicine.
"So, what you decided?" I asked folding my hands.
"Fine." She replied angrily.
Finally! It's one of the toughest jobs to pursue to take medicine. I wonder why people hate medicine so much. It's not that bad. If you want to recover, just take it. It's like if you wanna pass just do study. There is no other way except for cheating.
I sat beside her.
"Now tell me why you skipped your meal?"
"No, I didn't. That doctor was lying."
"Look, Dadi if you carry on with this then I have to leave my job and keep an eye on you 24 hours. Do you want that?"
"Anu! Ok I promise it won't happen again."
" I'm so disappointed with you. Please tell me if there is any problem. Or is something troubling you? You can tell me. Is there anything?"
"Anu, there is NOTHING."
"Then why are you not taking care of yourself? Or you have got bored of me so that you also gonna leave me alone like them? Don't you feel bad for me? Don't you?"
Tears automatically started rolling down her throat. Her voice broke while telling the last line.
"I can't live without you, Dadi." She whispered.
Dadi caressed her hair. She hugged her granddaughter tightly.
"I know you have to face many problems for me, na? Taking me hospital alone..."
"You are changing the topic and by the way, I was not alone."
"Then?"
"Arjun Sir was with me?"
"What? Your boss? What he was doing with you?"
She asked worriedly.
"Relax. There was a meeting and it was late so he dropped me off and so I invited him for coffee but then we found you in that state, fainted and we took you to the hospital. And that's the story."
Ananya said all at once without taking a breath.
"And you know if he was not there, I don't know how would I handle everything."
"Hmm... By the way, he is a nice guy. Invite him again I wanna meet him if your busy boss gets some free time."
"Yeah, of course. He is a great human being and you know with each passing day I am getting to know new good sides of him and maybe more to come. When I first met him my perspective on him was totally something opposite. That's why it's said that don't judge a book by its cover."
"Well, how old is he?"
"Wha-what? What type of question is that? How would I know? And why do you even wanna know?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"No, just asking. Is he married?"
"Nooo. And he is merely 2-3 years older than me. And. No. More. Question. Take rest."
She ordered seeing her opening her mouth to say something again.
As she was leaving the room, she heard her saying,
"That's a good thing. But don't get impressed too early. Look for some days more."
At this moment she knows where her mind is leading to.
"Yeah and once, he is proven perfect will get you married to him. Perfect couple."
She shouted across the hallway.
Ananya's p.o.v.
It's Sunday. I sat on the balcony with chai. Tomorrow is Monday again, another hectic day. But that's not the main problem. My tension is Dadi. Who will take care of her in my absence? Should I apply for more leaves? Oh God!
Oh! I forgot to call him. I need to know why he paid the bill.
I called him but he didn't receive.
Should I try again? Ok, one last time.
"Hello!"
Why is his voice sounding like this?
"Hello, sir."
"Who's this?"
"Sir, it's me."
"Hello, Me."
Oh God! Is he drunk?
"Sir, it's Ananya, Ananya Roy."
"Whose An... What? Ananya? Oh God! Are you insane?"
"Insane? What insanity I have shown?" I was irritated already by his stupid question.
"It's damn 3 am in the midnight Ananya and you just break into my sleep."
"Oops, I... I'm sorry sir."
I totally forgot that he was outside of India. But he's behaving like I haven't just disturbed his sleep but broken into his house. Such a sleepyhead!
"Now speak up fast." His voice was a little loud this time holding a bit of anger.
"Sir, actually I just wanna know why did you pay the bill of the hospital."
"Seriously? For this, you destroyed my precious sleep. Ok, it's my wish, so I paid. Anything else?"
"What do you mean by it's your wish? You can't do this. We don't need your sympathy."
Shit! I bite my lips. I think I shouldn't have said that.
"What did you just say? Sympathy? Who do you think you are? I just don't have so much money to spare out there. And you are no one special that I am so curious to pay your bills. Listen let me clarify one thing you are working in my company. You are serving my company. So, it's the company's responsibility to take care of its employees and their families. And it's nothing new in any company. "
Ok, I understood. But he could say that nicely. It's too rude.
"Is everything clear?"
"One more thing. Can I take some more leaves? Actually, Dadi hasn't recovered totally. So…"
"You can. Now bye. Good night."
"It's morning actually and thanks..."
He cut the call on my face sorry on my ears.
I know I'm no one special to him. But was he so needed to highlight that so much like this? What he was saying that day? We are now friends blah blah blah and now see. And here Dadi, dreaming of such things.
I went to the market after that. Usually, I and Dadi visit together but today it's only me.
I was entering the apartment Sharma Aunty came there.
"Arrey Ananya beta, how is your Dadi, now?"
"She is better now."
"Thank God that she is fine now. I was so scared that day when she suddenly came back home from the market and then these all happened?"
"Suddenly came back means?"
"Don't you know?"
"No."
"Actually, you know na, that we often visit the market together and that day means the day before the day she was hospitalized we went to market as usual. I was busy bargaining with the shopkeeper. Then I was calling her. She was just standing beside me but she didn't reply. When I turned towards her, I saw her looking at something or someone in the crowd in front with s shocked face. I shook her and when she came to her sense, she said she wanted to return home without buying anything. I asked her what happened but she didn't answer and left."
At this point, I was confused which means there was something happened that day.
"Ok, thanks, Aunty. Please visit sometimes our flat."
"Yeah yeah, I was thinking to come today only to see your Dadi. Maybe I can come in the evening."
"Please. And thank you for your concern."
I entered my flat with so many questions. What did she see and why didn't she inform me that when I asked her?
I paced back and forth for some time in the hall. If she had hidden that from me then I was sure that she was not gonna tell me that easily.
Oh God! On one side my brain was already burning off of the hotness out there and now these new problems. I wish the rainy season comes first.
Firstly, I took a bath to feel little calm. The cold water made my body get rid of the tiredness and made me energetic a little.
After I was done, I rushed to her room. I need my answers. Right now.
She was reading a magazine. I sat beside her.
"Dadi"
"Hmm?"
"What happened that day?"
"What day?" She asked me keeping her eyes on the magazine.
"The day before you fainted. In the market? What did you see?"
She immediately gazed up.
"What are you saying? I haven't seen anything."
"Or may I say whom did you see?"
"Ananya"
"Sharma Aunty has told me and I think she is not lying."
"I'm telling you na, there was NO ONE."
"Are you sure or is it him?"